Someone's pieces of plastics, are Someone's else's pieces of 'gold'

As I've written in this blog earlier, there is not a big or interesting market for toysoldiers in Norway. After the haydays in the 60-70ies, the interests and demand for military toys and toy soldiers declined to almost nothing. So we don't have any annual toysoldier-show and the market is scarce. They are simply not easy to find in Norway anymore, despite that all had them in the 60ies or 70ies.

Therefore I was quite surprised to find the following set on a fleamarket not so far from where I live. They put up some items they guessed would be interesting for auction (to get a better price), like this set of Airfix 1:32 scale American Infantry.  I just placed a (very) low bid to start somewhere and to see if there was any others interested in it. I was actually the only bidder and got it for my very low initial bid at just € 4.34, £ 3.88 or $ 4.82 (!)

This was actually the very first soldiers I got from my parents as a kid in the 70ies, and they were from the 1975/76 Military Series. This box of the other hand was from the very first issue of Airfix American Infantry in 1:32 scale from the 1969-71 Military Series (brown box).

Even if the seller claimed they were all there, I was very curious about the content and the soldiers state due to the age of this set. I was very surprised when I opened the box, not because they were all there, but because they were in a pristine condition. They were not 'dirty', all the mouldings were crisp and none of the barrels were broken (bent but not broken). Not even on the M1-carbines (!). These looks like they've never seen the level of combat mine from the 70ies experienced. This was indeed a very rare find.

I was not aware that the box showed figures that wasn't actually in the set. I guess the Thomson SMG pose was used in the American Paratrooper set.

Well, I guess that this rare find actually fits in my scope of 'budget wargaming'.

If you haven't been to any fleamarkets yet this year, maybe you should 

ONUC - Opération des Nations Unies au Congo

If you've been reading earlier posts in this blog, you have probably noticed that I've used a wargaming scenario from the UN operation ONUC in Congo for 15 games and reviews now. Between 1960 - 64 some 1173 Norwegians served in this mission. I wanted to show what the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum in Oslo displays from this mission in their INTOPS section, and what initially inspired me to paint my armies the way I did and game from this conflict. There was also in this museum I bought my army in the museum-shop in the first place, and the miniatures that started my wargaming.

ONUC

There was not a very big display from this mission, but a Jeep, some weapons used by the Norwegians and the Congolese. The weapon collection from the Norwegian contribution was not complete as the service rifle the M1 Garand was not included.

IFOR

Already in the INTOPS-section of the museum I was also curios to see the display from the mission I participated in 1996/97 in Bosnia. Again there was only one but even smaller display and with very limited contents.

It belongs in a museum...

You know you're getting old (er) when most of the equipment and uniforms used in your own service belongs in a museum:

Ironically even I belongs in a museum these days. 

- I work in one (!)

I've seen this piece many times before at the museum, but I've noticed that Alan from the Tradgardland made a nice artillery support for his ski-troops. Here is the prototype:

Modelling

After all this is a blog about military modelling, so I think it would be fair to add some pictured from some of the modelling displays there as well. As Norway is a maritime nation, a lot of the models have a maritime theme:

Wanting to get out of the forced union with Sweden, Norway started to modernize all branches of the armed forces, including the navy in the early 20th century

In 1905 the union with Sweden was dissolved peacefully, and Norway had one of the most modern navies at the time. It didn't last as some of these ships were still in service at the outbreak of WWII

In WWII more than 30 000 sailors and 806 modern (civilian) cargo ships were armed and went into allied service to transport supplies in convoys from the US to Europe

German submarines, sometimes operated from bases in the occupied Norway, was a threat to these convoys  

Despite of heavy escorts 3700 Norwegian sailors and 473 ships were lost

The Norwegian Armed Forces museum in Oslo is a nice museum, and if you're in the neighborhood I recommend you to visit it.

Military modelling in the garden

To me military modelling is more than just wargaming. I'm also very interested in model railways in different scales and gauges, and the benefit is that model railroading can easily be combined with military modelling.

After a long winter which is slowly turning to spring, it's more tempting to do outdoor activities again. This weekend a good friend of mine invited to 'open house' and encouraged people to bring along their own (Garden-) trains to run them on his awesome Garden railway.

I hastily put together an improvised short military supply train to bring along.

It looks like Thomas the Little Tank Engine is lurking in the background

The Engine is a 'militarized' 'Billy' from Roundhouse, made to run on 45mm track.

The little Jeep is a 1:18 scale model I found on a Model railway exhibition 

The cars or wagons are by LGB. Probably going to repaint them.

Several members in my MRC have garden railway equipment, and some of them also have large garden railways at home. We meet in each others gardens every now and then, socializing, eating snacks and run trains together. This is a very nice and social way to execute this hobby. A hobby which is not only trains, but can have a military content too.

Rules of Engagement Part IV - The Counter-attack

In my previous game with the Rules of Engagement rules, the UN platoon managed to take the Katangese Strongpoint of Lumbaya and capture the few remaining Katangese troops there. What the UN platoon didn't know at the time was that a Katangese QRF with 'elite soldiers' already was requested and on it's way to the village to support the defenders there. On the other side the Katangese QRF does not know that the Katangese Strongpoint of Lumbaya has already fallen, and that the UN controls the village. What will happen when the Katangese QRF enters the scene; will they be able to retake the Katangese Strongpoint in a counter-attack??

Katangese:

• A QRF consisting of:
• 1 truck with a HMG
• A section of 10 'veterans' with a LMG and a bazooka. The squad can operate as 2 individual fire-teams.

The UN forces didn't take Lumbaya without some losses and are reduced to:

UN:

• 1 Platoon of 3 rifle-squads each with a LMG. The squads can operate independently. The squads are reduced to:
• Squad 1: 5 soldiers
• Squad 2: 7 soldiers
• Squad 3: 6 soldiers
• 1 Light mortar-detachment of  2 soldiers and an observer.
• 1 bazooka-detachment of 3 soldiers
• HQ-section with platoon-leader
• 2 medics
• 1 Jeep with HMG and 2 soldiers.

Mission:

• Katangese: To retake the strongpoint of Lumbaya, and free the prisoners of war captured by the UN.
• UN: To hold the village of Lumbya.

AAR

Time:    1 hour and 20 minutes

Turns:   9

Result:  UN victory

The UN platoon have taken positions, securing the access roads into the village

As soon as the Katangese QRF appears on the road and have the village  in sight...

...they comes under heavy fire. The UN mortar team are prepared and set the morter impact area on the access road to Lumbaya. As soon as the Katangese QRF are spotted, the UN morter open fire...

...and get a direct hit on the Katangese Gun-truck and knocks it out for the rest of the game. The elite infantry has to run for cover.

At this long range the UN units have problems to get any direct hits on the Katangese soldiers in cover, and only manage to pin them by suppressive fire.

As the Katangese units got pinned and didn't manage to advance further, they returned fire from their protective cover. Being 'elite' their marksmanship and harassing fire are accurate...

...and they gets several hits on the UN squad on roof which secures the road to the village, forcing the UN medic to triage between light wounded and severe casualties. He is helpful but can't help them all...

The UN forces doesn't manage to eliminate the Katangese forces in their protective cover and the harassing fire, so they need to advance closer to try to take them out. A UN squad advances in cover of the armed Jeep.

When they are getting closer they attract the Katangese fire...

...but Katangese units are soon outgunned and starts to take it's toll. The Katangese morale is still high and they keeps on fighting to the last man...

The UN platoon managed to hold Lumbaya and stop the Katangese counter-attack. This was a successful skirmish in the bigger 'Grand Slam' operation.

Conclusion 

Now I've developed and test-played these rules under different conditions and with different strength-ratio in 4 (actually 5) games, and I think these rules are considered 'battle-proven' now. Before they get my final approval, I think there is one more thing that needs adjustment; In this game the ever fewer 'elite' troops rolled for morale and managed to hold. - I consider 'elite' units are more likely to have higher morale than regular units, so the fact being 'elite' should affect their morale rolls; So elite is a +1 in morale in this final version of the rules. And with that I think I conclude this development of rules. This makes my final home-brewed rules to look like this:

Link to the rules: Rules of Engagement 20th Century Warfare

If you have followed my 'series' and the development of these rules in 4 parts, I hope you enjoyed it. It would be nice if someone else tried the rules as well, and if someone does; feel free to share your experiences and views on them. 

But the most important thing; Use the scenarios, games and rules that makes you happy, and have a good time!

Happy Wargaming!

Rules of Engagement Part III - The Last Platoon returning to Lumbaya

The last time the UN forces tried to take and hold the Katangese Strongpoint of Lumbaya as a part of the larger 'Grand Slam' operation, they were eventually outnumbered and had to retreat. The UN Company Commander desperately orders his 3rd and last platoon to perform a new attack on the Katangese Gendarmerie in Lumbaya immediately, before the Katangese forces have time to get reinforcements. After the last clash with the UN forces, the Katangese Gendarmerie are reduced and regrouped to:

Katangese:

• 1 rifle-squad of 10 soldiers, with a LMG and a bazooka. The squad can operate as 2 fireteams independently.
• 1 fireteam of 5 soldiers with a flamethrower.
• HQ-section with platoon-leader and 2 medics
• After turn 12: A QRF consisting of 1 truck with a HMG and a section of 10 'veterans' with a LMG and a bazooka arrives from the next village. Only if Lumbaya is still held by Katangese force

The UN still have their support weapons intact and sends in another rifle platoon supported by a couple of medics due to the heavy losses in their last offensive:

UN:

• 1 Platoon of 3 rifle-squads each of 8 soldiers and a LMG. The squads can operate independently.
• 1 Light mortar-detachment of  2 soldiers and an observer.
• 1 bazooka-detachment of 3 soldiers
• HQ-section with platoon-leader
• 2 medics
• 1 Jeep with HMG and 2 soldiers.

The ratio is still not quite 3:1 in the attackers favor yet, merely 2:1, but the attacking side has more heavy firepower than the defending side.

Mission:

• Katangese: To hold the strongpoint of Lumbaya. Can request QRF-support as mentioned in the force-section from turn 12 if still holding whole or part of the strongpoint.
• UN: To take and hold the strongpoint of Lumbya, preferably within 12 turns, and take control on as many Katangese gendarms located there as possible.

AAR

Time:    2 hours and 10 minutes

Turns:   11

Result:  UN victory 

In this offensive against Lumbaya the UN forces are the only side left with heavy support weapons, and they are not afraid of using using them...

...to cover the UN advance. Sneaking thorough dense vegetation will give the UN squads a +1 ambush bonus when emerging from from their cover.

The Katangese Gendarmerie tries to slow and stop the UN offensive, but they don't hit accurate enough to have any crucial effect. 

The UN squads cover for each other and advance by 'fire and maneuver'. The squads giving covering fire also receives fire, but they manage to hold.

The fire and maneuver and covering fire from the support weapons is a successful combo and the first squads soon reaches the outskirts of the village.

The Katangese Gendarmerie desperately tries to slow them down, but don't get any efficient hits.

The UN forces effectively manage to thin the Katangese defense lines and soon all the Katangese units are halved, but these brave defenders still rolls for such a good morale that they all hold their positions...

...until their defense totally collapse in the next turn (turn 8)...

...and the UN units starts entering the Village of Lumbaya. 

Soon the few remaining Katangese troops in Lumbaya are surrounded and have to capitulate.

The third offensive against the Katangese Strongpoint in Lumbaya was a success for the UN forces as they had minimal losses.

Conclusion 

I've already written what I consider as pros and cons with these rules in earlier reviews. I think the necessary tweaking made them really playable and to me they almost appears as a 'skirmish battle simulation' as I tried to take considerations to when it's easier or harder to hit different targets under different conditions, and benefits of different covers. I'm defiantly going to play games with these rules again as they contains the elements I like in such a small wargame (which can be played with readily available toy soldiers and army men). - And I hope you will try them out too. And if you do, feel free to share your experiences and point of views. If you wanna have a go, you can find the rules on this link.

I have lived with this setup and scenario for such a long time time, that I felt it was about to become a permanent setup. It's time to move on to other scenarios, games and aspects of military modelling, but before I clear this scenario away from the gaming table, I will try them for one final game...

Rules of Engagement Part II - The second battle for Lumbaya

The last play-test of my own home-brewed house rules did not go so well and smooth as I hoped for. Was this test representative for how the rules would work? There was only one thing to do, and that was to use them for another game to see. I sent my miniatures back to Lumbaya again since I hadn't put the setup away yet and have a replay. The outcome was pretty much the same; long playing time and low casualties rates. No new battle report for that game as it just turned out to be a replay of the last.

The rules needed some adjustments to make them more playable in a reasonable amount of time. First I adjusted the D6-value to score hits from 4+ on short ranges and 5+ on long ranges, to 3+ on short ranges and 4+ on long ranges. There are so many other factors that have influence on the hit-probability within these rules anyway. 

Secondly I adjusted the probability from 33% to 50% that unsaved hits would cause a 'kill', even thou I vaguely remember that I've read somewhere that during WWII about only 1/3 of hits were lethal. Besides, a saved hit is still a hit, so I suppose the 'kill probability' for hits are still closer to 33%.

Thirdly I increased the 'hypothetical' Rate of Fire, damage potential and the hit probability on heavy weapons by adding another D6 for firing LMGs, HMGs and Mortars as these kind of weapons simply does more damage.

The (updated) rules

Link: Rules of Engagement for Wargaming with Miniatures

The test

Now the rules needed to be tested again, so I went for the same, familiar by many now, game, setup and scenario as for the other earlier games in this 'series'. I repeat it here again if you haven't read my earlier reviews yet:

The scenario

I've placed this skirmish to the United Nations largest mission in both scale and operational scope during the Congo Crisis 1960-65, when UN troops 'peacekeeping' was more offensive 'peace enforcement' with force.

Situation:

This skirmish is finding place in fictional place of Lumbaya in the early January of 1963, when the UN during operation 'Grand Slam' are turning their attention to the remaining Katangese strongholds in Southern Katanga after after securing the Katangese capitol of Élisabethville.

Place:

Lumbaya is a very small village located 80km south west of Élisabethville, and are made into a stronghold by a small platoon of Katangese Gendarmes. The village is one of several strongholds in the area to trying to hold the UN off while trying to keep the self-proclaimed president Tshombe by power of the self-proclaimed Katanga state.

Forces:

• Forces:
  • Katangese:
  • 2 rifle-squads each of 10 soldiers, a LMG and and a bazooka/flame thrower. Each squad can operate as 2 fireteams independently. 
  • 1 HMG-detachment of 3 soldiers
  • 1 sniper
  • HQ-section with platoon-leader and 2 medics
  • After turn 12: A QRF consisting of 1 truck with a HMG and a section of 10 'veterans' with a LMG and a bazooka arrives from the next village. Only if Lumbaya is still held by Katangese forces.

  

  
  

  
  

  • UN:
  • 1 Platoon of 3 rifle-squads each of 8 soldiers and a LMG. The squads can operate independently.
  • 1 Light mortar-detachment of  2 soldiers and an observer
  • 1 bazooka-detachment of 3 soldiers
  • HQ-section with platoon-leader
  • 1 Jeep with HMG and 2 soldiers.

  

Mission:

• Katangese: To hold the strongpoint of Lumbaya. Can request QRF-support as mentioned in the force-section from turn 12 if still holding whole or part of the strongpoint.
• UN: To take and hold the strongpoint of Lumbya, preferably within 12 turns, and take control on as many Katangese gendarms located there as possible.

AAR

Time:    2 hours and 20 minutes 

Turns:   11

Result:  UN withdrawal 

Early in the UN offensive the Katangese support team came under heavy suppressive fire, and got pinned for several turns. The sniper was very effective though

This made way for an UN advance, but the advancing UN squads met suppressive fire and got pinned for several turns before they could reach sufficient cover. 

Meanwhile the Katangese medics did an heroic effort to try to get the crew back in action, but in the end the UN forces finally managed to eliminate the Katangese support weapons and their sniper by a direct hit.

...- but too late. The UN squads had  suffered several casualties after being pinned without sufficient covers for so many turns, that they had to withdraw by the rules and by sense. The Katangese Gendarmerie managed to hold their strongpoint for now.

Pros

• The adjustments as described in the start of this post gave a slightly higher rate of casualties in relation to fire, and really made these rules more playable in a reasonable amount of time.

Cons

• These rules really differs between defending and attacking forces regarding hit-probability; It gives units in fortified and defensive positions, and therefore don't have to move around in the line of fire, a huge advantage over advancing units, which have to use movement and cover to better their odds.

Conclusion 

With almost 2 equally sized forces in this game these rules gave the fortified defenders such a big advantage over the attackers that the attackers almost didn't have a chance. Really just as in the real life with the 3:1 rule of combat; Traditionally it is accepted that a defending force has a 3:1 advantage over an attacker. In other words, a defending force can hold off three times its own number of attacker.

Therefor I think it would be reasonable to try these rules again with a smaller defending unit against a larger attacking force. Ideally 3:1 proportion. Since the defending Katangese forces also had several casualties in this game and also lost their HMG and sniper, they are so reduced and weakened that I would like to see whats happen if they meets another full strength UN platoon again.

So I let the UN Company Commander throw in his last platoon in a desperate attempt to take and hold the Katangese Strongpoint of Lumbaya...